Food needs of Marin's low-income residents not being met, county not taking full advantage of state and federal assistance

The food needs of low-income individuals living in Marin are not being met, according to the San Francisco Food Bank, which merged with the Marin Food Bank in January.

Food Bank Executive Director Paul Ash said a study the food bank sponsored in 2010 with the Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality found that a low-income person living in Marin is missing seven meals each week. The study examined the difference between food needs and food availability among low-income people, defined as those who earn no more than 185 percent of the "federal poverty level."

At the time of the study, a family of four earning $41,000 a year was at 185 percent of the federal poverty level.

Since then, Ash said the number of low-income people in Marin has increased dramatically. The number of Marin residents at 185 percent of the federal poverty level in 2010 was 43,397, or about 17 percent of the county's total population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released in September.

But in 2011, the number of Marin residents at that income level or lower jumped to 51,247, or 21 percent of the population. Since 2008, the number of people in Marin at 185 percent of the federal poverty level has increased by 54 percent.

"Over the past four years, we've had the situation that we're expanding our services but the need is growing about a fast as we're able to expand our services," Ash said. "We're running, but we're not getting ahead."

The amount of food distributed in Marin by the food bank since the beginning of the nation's historic economic slump in 2008 has more than doubled from 2.3 million to 5.6 million pounds. That's enough food for more than 13,000 meals per day in Marin.

The food bank currently operates 35 food pantries in various locations throughout Marin.

In 2012, the food bank added six pantries in Marin to reach additional needy residents, including sites at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Corte Madera; Cornerstone Church in Sausalito; Villas at Hamilton, Garden of Eatin' and MacKey Terrace Senior Housing Complex in Novato; and a Healthy Children's Pantry at Laurel Dell Elementary School in San Rafael.

Ash said the situation could be improved significantly if more Marin residents took advantage of the state's CalFresh program, formerly known as Food Stamps and federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

A little more than half of the people eligible for CalFresh in California are enrolled in the program; California has the lowest program participation rate of all 50 states. In Marin, only 30 percent of people eligible for CalFresh are enrolled. Within the state, Marin's CalFresh enrollment ranks 54th out of 58 counties.

Ash said one reason the participation rate in California is so low is that here counties have complete responsibility for enrolling people.

"The states that have high rates of participation in the program are states that have more centralized statewide policies and statewide systems, so people know from county to county what the rules are and counties can learn from each other and use the same data platforms," Ash said.

The federal government pays for all the food provided in the CalFresh program and half of the administrative costs. States and counties share the other half of the administrative costs.

"It's true that the rate in Marin has historically been below that of many other counties," said Larry Meredith, director of the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services. "So over the last year or two, we have increased our outreach through the Children's Health Initiative and the WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) program, trying to make it easier for all eligible to be applicants. We've had a full-court press on this and see some increases."

Meredith said the county has found it difficult to convince Marin seniors to apply for the CalFresh program for a couple of reasons. First, he said many seniors don't want to reveal the information about their finances necessary to verify eligibility. Second, Meredith said the size of a Marin senior's CalFresh benefit may be relatively modest since it is based on income, and Marin incomes are higher than other communities due to the high cost of living here.

Ash said in San Francisco, the county uses federal outreach money to pay the food bank to pre-screen people for the CalFresh program.

"It is a complicated program to apply for; it has a reputation for being difficult," Ash said. "Sometimes people need to hear, 'We'll help you with the application,' or 'The benefit is so valuable you really should go through all of the steps it takes to qualify.'"

Meredith said it is difficult to apply the San Francisco model to Marin since there are fewer overall eligible recipients in the county. He said, "We lack the economies of scale."

If you are in need of food assistance in Marin, call 211. The Helplink call center will connect you with available pantry and meal sites in your area.

HOW TO HELP

 Donations of nonperishable food items for the San Francisco and Marin Food Banks can be dropped off at local grocery stores that have food bank collection barrels or the Marin warehouse location, at 75 Digital Drive in Novato. A complete list of drop-off locations is available at www.marinfoodbank.org/marin-drop-off-locations. Marin Boy Scouts will be going door-to-door gathering donations for the food bank beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday. Scouts have notified residents where they plan to collect food. The food bank's most needed food drive items include soup, chili, baked beans, canned vegetables, tuna, canned meat, cereal, peanut butter and granola bars (no glass or perishable items). Monetary donations: For every $1 donated, the food bank can distribute $6 worth of food. Cash donations can be made via www.marinfoodbank.org.